It’s old news that in today’s world you can’t market a business without using at least one social media platform. The big players are Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. Of those popular platforms, Facebook and Twitter are the leading forces. While Facebook’s been on the map for quite some time now, Twitter is actually coming out in first place as the leader for small business marketing. Twitter has more than 140 million active users and that number grows every single day. Every three days, Twitter sees upwards of one billion Tweets. Whether you already realize that Twitter is more important than Facebook for small business marketing or not, do not ignore Twitter altogether. Here’s why Twitter is the winner when it comes to small business marketing.

Business-Minded Twitter Users and Twitter Ads

Twitter attracts users who want to engage with other professionals. As much as Facebook has become business-friendly, people primarily use the platform to stay connected with friends and family. Twitter users, on the other hand, are signing on daily to keep up with their favorite people in distinct industries. This is why advertising on Twitter makes sense – other users are actually interested in promoted Tweets and promoted profiles, unlike many Facebook users, who try to click away from ads as fast as possible.

Instantaneous Customer Service

Businesses are now using Twitter to offer immediate customer service. As a small business, you can be connected to your consumers around-the-clock, which means that you can deal with problems as they arise. This is a huge benefit for a business of any size, but particularly a small business that may be trying to build a solid reputation for quality products or services. If you can afford the manpower, hire someone who’s specific job is to monitor your customer service Twitter profile and resolve customer problems.

User-Friendliness Means More Engagement

Twitter is, undoubtedly, super fool proof and simple to use. It takes less than a second to mark someone else’s Tweet as a “Favorite,” to reply to a Tweet or to re-Tweet one. As with any type of communication, the more you show that you’re interested in somebody else, the more you’ll be liked. The same rule applies to social media and Twitter is one of the best ways to engage consumers and start a conversation. Follow the 12:1 rule, which says that if you help others twelve times and promote yourself only once, you’ll get much more back than what you give.

All in all, Twitter is simply easier to use than Facebook, probably because there a less options. That’s not a bad thing, though. Twitter seems to have the best part of Facebook: the news feed. However, on Twitter, it’s not nearly as lengthy and time consuming to sort through everyone’s updates. There’s a word limit, which keeps posts super short and easy to read – you’ll never feel like one user is clogging up the timeline with never-ending posts.

Twitter App for Smartphones

Both Facebook and Twitter have smartphone apps, but Twitter’s mobile app is much more reliable and easier to use than Facebook’s. Looking at the entire Facebook platform on a mobile phone can be difficult – there’s so much to check and see that the app usually doesn’t run as efficiently as users would like. Twitter, on the other hand, is so simple to begin with that it doesn’t lose any usability with its mobile version. This means that consumers can easily stay connected on-the-go, which most people are for a majority of their day.

Limited Characters Per Tweet

The mistake that a lot of businesses make on Facebook is overloading their followers with information. Long-winded messages barely get read. People want shorter snippets of information that get to the point, whether you’re talking about a change with your company or making a funny joke just to get a laugh. The 140-character limit on Twitter helps small business owners figure out how they’re going to say what they need to in a limited space. A perk to this is that most people end up learning how to write better and more efficiently.

Twitter Has a Built-In Search Engine

Possibly one of the biggest ways that Twitter sets itself apart from Facebook is by having it’s very own built-in search engine. This is a huge gain for small business owners, because they can target people who are interested in whatever industry the business is in. For example, a boutique writing business that wants to find wedding vendors who need written content can search for keywords like “wedding” and “bride” to target people in their niche. The search feature helps on an even larger scale, though. Most small business owners know that the best way to get customers is to start local. With the search feature, you can look for people who are interested in what’s going on in your area, engage with them and hopefully gain followers who will eventually turn into consumers. On Facebook, you’re limited to people you’re already connected with, friends of friends and the ability to only search for names, not what people are talking about. This feature works the other way, too. By putting keywords and hashtags in your Tweets, users can find your business.

Lack of Security Settings

Facebook’s security settings are great if you’re afraid that your boss is going to see a picture from your crazy weekend in Vegas. Unfortunately, having too many options for keeping your information private can be a drawback when you’re trying to promote a business. Twitter, however, doesn’t have nearly as many privacy settings, which is a good thing if you’re a business. You have two choices: make everything public or don’t make anything public. That’s it. Since you want the public to see your business, no holds barred, Twitter ensures that your Tweets are accessible to everyone. Plus, just about everyone you engage with will have unblocked accounts, too.